Impulse sender



T. C. REEBE IMPULSE SENDER March 8, 3.949.

Filed Jan. 24, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet l EIJVENTOR, THEODORE C. RI EBE ATTORNE! T. C. REEBE IMPULSE SENDER March 8, 1949.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 24, 1947 I N VEN TOR. THEODORE C. RIEBE ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 8, 1949 IMPULSE SENDER Theodore (J. Riebe, Chicago,111., assignor to Automatic Electric Laboratories, Inc., Chicago, 111.,a corporation of Delaware Application January 24, 1947, Serial No.7242030 Claims. (Cl. 177-380) The present invention relates in generalto impulse transmitters using an impulser similar to the well knowncalling device used in automatic teiephone systems, but modifiedtherefrom.

The illustrated embodiment discloses the invention as used in atelephone system for identifying the calling station on a multi-stationline.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an impulsetransmitter of simple and rugged construction adapted for use inidentifying the calling station in various communication and signallingsystems.

Another object is to provide a push button controlled impulsetransmitter for transmitting a predetermined number of impulses for thepurpose of identifying the calling station on a multistation line and inwhich the mechanism of the transmitter is so designed that regardless ofthe manipulations of the push button, the transmitter can only transmita number of impulses corresponding to the calling station.

A feature of the invention relates to the arrangement whereby impulseswill only be transmitted in response to a full stroke operation of thepush button, whereas, partial operations are ineffective to operate theimpulse transmitting mechanism.

Another feature of the invention relates to the mechanism, whereby, inresponse to a full stroke of the push button, the impulse cam wheel ofthe transmitter always makes one full revolution and no more.

Another feature of the invention relates to the interlockingarrangement, whereby, after initiation of the impulse cam it isimpossible to mac,- tuate the push button until the impulse cam hascompleted its full revolution, thus preventing a calling station fromsending a false calling Sta tion identification signal.

The objects and features set forth above are attained in accordance withthe present invention by providing an impulse transmitting devicecomprising a main rotatable shaft, a spring motor mounted over theshaft, a drive gear mounted on the shaft and free to turn about theshaft in one direction, but locked to the shaft during movement in theopposite direction, a finger-operated push bar operatively connected tothe shaft, whereby as the push bar is moved inward, the shaft is rotatedin one direction and the spring motor is wound, after the push bar hasrestored to normal the spring motor unwinds and the shaft is rotated inthe opposite direction, an auxiliary shaft geared directly to the drivegear and containing an impulse wheel mounted thereon,

whereby, the impulse wheel is rotated as the drive gear turns, thedevice also comprises a holding means consisting of three holding pawlsfunctioning at different intervals during a cycle of operation forpreventing incomplete operation and false transmission signals.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanyings drawings, comprisingFigures 1 to 5 inclusive, which are described as follows:

Figure 1 is a side view as shown from the left.

Figure 2 is a side view as shown from the right.

Figure 3 is a partial end view as shown from the front.

Figure 4 is an exploded view showing the relative positions of themechanism on the right side.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view showing the push bar moved to its limitand also showing the dotted portion shown in Figure 2.

It will be noted that some of the illustrated mechanisms such as thegovernor, spring motor, shunt springs, impulse springs, and cam, areshown in U. S. Patent 1,642,822 granted September 30, 1927 to Herbert F.Obergfell.

Referring now to the drawings showing the impulse transmitter, Figure 1shows the frame I, upon which is mounted contact arm support 2, impulsewheel support 3, spring motor support 4, and worm gear support 5.Impulse springs I4 and I5, and shunt springs II, I2 and I3 are mountedon support 2. Impulse wheel l'I, containing teeth such as I8, is mountedon support 3. Shunt spring cam 8 is secured to one end of spring motor 9and the two are placed over and secured to a slot in rotatable shaft 28.The other end of spring I! is hooked to a raised catch 58 on support 4.Insulating control member I0 actuated by cam 8, is carried on shuntspring II. Worm gear I, meshing with teeth on governor I6, is mounted ona shaft and rotatably secured to support 5.

In Figure 2, push bar I9 is slidably mounted at one end to frame Ithrough a slot provided in frame I. The other end slides through a slotin plate 41 which is secured to the frame I. Push bar l9 contains stops51 and 59, a release pin 29, and a notch 55. Holding pawl 22 is mountedon pivot 38 which is secured to frame I, and biased by spring 23, oneend of which is secured to support post 35. A notch 34" is provided inpush bar is for pawl 22 to engage. A linkage plate 30 is rotatablymounted on shaft 28 by means of screw 53, and hub 54. It carries linkagepin 4n, linkage spring 24, and spring support post 46. The other end ofspring 24 is fastened to support post 38 on frame I. Linkage pin 40engages notch 55 of push bar it. Governor brake drum 8 is secured togovernor support 26, which is fastened to frame I. Bracket 27, securedto frame l, is the support for the worm gear and impulse wheel shaft.Holding pawl is mounted on pivot 39 which is secured to frame l, andbiased by spring one end of which is secured to support post 37!.Holding pawl 20 includes a notch which may en gage a tooth such as 50 inholding gear 49. Holding pawl 2i is mounted on pivot at which is securedto frame i, and is biased by spring so one end of which is secured tosupport post 6%. Control plate at is mounted over and secured to shaft28 and is located underneath linkage plate 39. Control plate 36 containsrelease pin 5i for actuating holding pawl 2 l, mounting pivot at formounting pawl 43 on plate 3i, support post 65 for biasing pawl 43,release finger for releasing pawl 22, and an indentation in a portion ofits periphery to allow linkage plate til to return to normal independentof plate 8i.

In Figure i, drive gear 32 is located below holding gear 49, which isbelow movable pawl gear 52, all of them constituting an integral unitmounted over shaft 28 andiree to rotate thereon. Movable pawl 43 ismounted on pivot 62 which is secured to control plate ill and biased byspring 44, one end of which is secured to support post 45. Teeth such as56 in movable pawl gear are provided for the engagement therewith by themovable pawl d3.

Having given a description as to construction of the various parts oithe impulse transmitter, a brief description will now be given of theoperations which take place in response to the depression andrestoration of the push bar Referring mainly to Figures 2 and 5, as pushbar l9 starts its depression to the right, its release pin 29 moves awayfrom holding pawl it, and allows the pawl it to be actuated by spring 25to drop into a tooth such as Ed in holding gear 49, but it does not meshtightly and leaves a space between the two as shown in figure 5; Linkagepin 40 in linkage plate 30 stays within notch as of push bar ill at alltimes, therefore, a depression of the push bar is will cause the linkageplate 30 to rotate clockwise. Linkage pin also extends down and bearsagainst a side of the indented portion of the periphery of control plate3| so that a rotation of linkage plate 38 will cause a similar rotationof the control plate 3!]. its control plate 31 is rotated, shaft 28rotates, and shunt cam 8 no longer bears against insulating controlmember ill, thereby allowing shunt springs ll, l2 and ill to beoperative. As the push bar is continues to be depressed, linkage plate30 and control plate 3i continue to rotate clockwise until the releasepin 58 in the control plate 3| strikes against holding pawl 20. The pushbar is now depressed until stop til rests against plate 4?, at the sametime release pin 5i pushes holding pawl it out of engagement with atooth such as in holding gear 49. Simultaneously, with the rotation ofcontrol plate 3i, movable pawl 43 is rotated, and it engages a toothsuch as 56 in movable pawl gear 52 at the same time that the push barreaches its limit when holding pawl 2i is disengaged from tooth 50 inholding gear 49. Spring motor 9 is now wound and locked, as the rotationof control plate 3| rotates shaft 28 which is fastened to one end of thespring motor. Movable pawl 43 and holding pawl 20 have locked the springmotor in its present state. Release finger 33 has also rotated away fromholding pawl 22, so that the 4 holding pawl now rests on the upper edgeof push bar I8. At the very instant of the initiation of the restorationof the push bar l9, while release pin 5| is keeping holding pawl 2|disengaged from tooth 50, holding gear 49 is allowed to rotate counterclockwise only a short distance and mesh tooth 50 tightly with the notchin holding pawl 20. As the push bar I9 is restored further, release pin5! no longer bears against holding pawl 2i, but the small amount of theaforementioned rotation has prevented holding pawl 21 from engagingholding gear 39 and the pawl now rests on the outer periphery of holdinggear 49. Biasing spring 2% continues to exert force on linkage plate 30and rotate it in a counterclockwise direction to restore push bar it dueto the linkage connection between release pin 4B and notch Release pinill travels along the indentation of control plate St. Just before stops59 on push bar it strike frame 0, release pin 29 strikes against holdingpawl At the instant stops 59 strike the frame, release pin it has forcedholding pawl all back and disengaged its notch with the tooth at inholding gear d9, thereby releasing the mechanism for operation. At

the same instant of release, holding pawl 22 engages notch Sit in pushbar iii, and thereby pre vents a reoperation of. push bar iii untilcontrol plate 3i is fully restored. a result of the op eration of pawlas spring motor 9 now causes drive bear 32, holding gear at, movablepawl gear 52, and control plate ill to rotate counter clockwise. Asimpulse wheel ill is mounted on an auxiliary shaft and geared to thedrive gear 32, it will rotate also. The teeth, such as t8 on the impulsewheel, will strike impulse arm it, resulting in the opening and closingof the contacts on impulse arms id and it, which thereby cause pulses tobe transmitted in accordance with the number of teeth on the impulsewheel. Release finger 33 is rotated back with control plate 3i and atthe instant the mechanism stops, after one complete rotation of theimpulse wheel, finger 33 forces holding pawl 22 out of engagement withnotch 34, releasing push bar H9 in preparation for a future operation.

Four teeth have been illustrated on the impulse wheel, but a lesser orgreater number may be used, depending on the desired signal.

In the foregoing description, in order to start the operational cycle,the push bar is must be completely depressed so that stop 51 restsagainst plate 4']. An incomplete depression or number of incompletedepressions of the push bar is will not lock the spring motor or cause atransmission of pulses.

Assuming that the push bar 99 has been de-= pressed completely, thenonly partially restored and depressed again and repeated a number oftimes, no additional winding of the spring motor will occur, and noadditional pulses will be transmitted, because the push bar must becompletely restored to allow the release mechanism to function andpermit the spring motor to unwind. If an attempt is made to depress thepush bar l9, while the release mechanism and spring motor arefunctioning, it is stopped because release finger 33 has rotated awayfrom its contact with holding pawl 22 and allowed the pawl to engagenotch 34, thereby preventing further depression of the push bar untilthe mechanism has completed its operation and release finger 33 hasrotated back and disengaged holding pawl 22 from notch 34.

It will be noted that the above arrangements rotating said shaft, afinger operated push bar,

a control plate mounted on and secured to said shaft and rotated inresponse to the manual operation of said push bar for rotating saidshaft to wind said spring motor, a first holding pawl normally engagingsaid gear to prevent rotation of said gear and operated in response tofull depression of said push bar to disengage said holding pawl fromsaid gear, a second holding pawl operated in response to the manualdepression of said push bar for holding said gear and plate after thedisengagement of said first holding pawl from said gear and forreleasing said gear and plate in response to the restoration of saidpush bar to normal to permit said spring motor to rotate said plate,said gear, and said impulse wheel, a third holding pawl operated inresponse to the restoration of said push bar to normal for locking saidpush bar in normal position to prevent its reoperation, and a finger onsaid plate for releasing said third holding pawl to unlock said push barin response to the rotation of said plate to normal.

2. In an impulse transmitter comprising a rotatable shaft, a drivinggear mounted on and free to rotate in only one direction about saidshaft, an impulse wheel connected to said gear and rotatable therewith,a spring motor for rotating said shaft, a finger operated push bar, acontrol plate mounted on and secured to said shaft and rotated inresponse to the manual operation of said push bar for rotating saidshaft to wind said spring motor, a first holding pawl normally engagingsaid gear to prevent rotation of said gear and operated in response tofull depression of said push bar to disengage said holding pawl fromsaid gear, a second holding pawl operated in response to the manual depression of said push bar for holding said gear and plate after the.disengagement of said first holding "pawl from said gear and forreleasing said gear and plate in response to the restoration of saidpush bar to normal to permit said spring motor to rotate saidplate, saidgear, and said impulse wheel.

' 3. In an impulse transmitter comprising a rotatable shaft, a drivinggear mounted on and free to rotate in only one direction about saidshaft, an impulse wheel connected to said gear and rotatable therewith,a spring motor for rotating said shaft, a finger operated push bar, acontrol plate mounted on and secured to said shaft and rotated inresponse to the manual operation of said push bar for rotating saidshaft to wind said spring motor, a first holding pawl normally engagingsaid gear to prevent rotation of said gear and operated in response tofull depression of said push bar to disengage said holding pawl fromsaid gear, a second holding pawl having a normal position and a holdingposition and-operated from its normal position to its holding positionin response to the manual operation of said push bar, said spring motoreffective after disengaging said first holding pawl from said gear andat the initiation of therelease of said push bar to partially rotatesaid gear until held by said second holding pawl in its holdingposition, said partial rotation rendering said first pawl ineifective tohold said gear until after a predetermined rotation of said gear, andmeans on said push bar for restoring said second holding pawl from itsholding position to its normal position to permit said spring motor torotate said plate, gear and wheel to transmit impulses.

4. In an impulse transmitter, a finger operated push bar, a controlplate, a linkage device operatively connecting said control plate tosaid push bar in response to only the depression of said push bar torotate said control plate, a spring motor wound to store energy inresponse to the rotation of said plate, a driving gear, a. movable pawlfor coupling said gear to said plate after rotation of said plate, meansfor holding said gear to prevent its rotation, and release meanseffective in response to the full restoration of said push bar forreleasing said holding means to permit the energy stored in said springmotor to rotate said plate and said gear.

5. In an impulse transmitter, a finger operated push bar, a controlplate rotated in response to the manual depression of said push bar, aspring motor wound to store energy in response to said depression, adriving gear coupled to said plate in response to the full depression ofsaid push bar, means for delaying rotation of said plate and gear untilsaid push bar is fully restored, means for operating said delaying meansin response to the full restoration of said push bar to permit rotationof said gear and plate, a holdme pawl efiective on restoration of saidpush bar for preventing a reactuation of said push bar after itsrestoration, and a release finger on said control plate for operatingsaid pawl to permit reactuation of said push bar in response to thecompleted rotation of said control plate.

6. In an impulse transmitter, a finger operated push bar, a spring motorwound to store energy in response to the manual depression of said pushbar, a driving gear rotated by said spring motor in response to therestoration of said push bar, a holding pawl efiective on restoration ofsaid push bar for preventing a reactuation of said push bar after itsrestoration, and a release finger responsive to the rotation of saidgear for operating said pawl to permit reactuation of said push bar.

7. In an impulse transmitter, an impulse wheel having a variable numberof teeth, an energy storing device, a controlled finger operated pushbar manually depressed for transmitting energy to said storing device,means for connecting said storing device with said impulse wheel, andmeans effective after full restoration of said push bar for releasingsaid ener to rotate said impulse wheel to transmit pulses accord ncewith the number of teeth on said wheel.

8. In an impulse tra itter, an impulse wheel containing a variabl numberof teeth, a driving gear geared to sai wheel, a finger operated pushbar, a spring otor wound to store energy in response to a epression ofsaid push bar, means for delaying the rotation of said gear and saidwheel until said push bar is fully restored, means eifective in responseto the full restoration of said push bar for causing said spring motorto rotate said gear and turn said wheel one complete revolution, anmeans controlled by the number 'of teeth on said wheel for transmittin acorresponding number of pulses in response to the complete revolution ofsaid wheel.

9. In an impulse transmitter, a finger operated push bar, a spring motorwound to store energy in response to the manual depression of said pushbar, a holding pawl effective after depression of said push bar forpreventing said spring motor from unwinding, a release means operativeon restoration of said push bar for operating said holding pawl torelease said energy, a first limiting means on said push bar to limitthe amount of said depression, a second limiting means on said push barto limit the amount of said restora tion, said first limiting meansdetermining the amount that said spring motor is to be Wound, and saidsecond limiting means stopping the restoration of said push bar at theinstant said release means has operated. g

10. In an impulse transmitter, a finger operated push bar, a slot onsaid push bar and a tooth on each side of said slot, a control platehaving an indented portion of its periphery, a linkage plate foroperatively connecting said push bar with said control plate, a linkagepin mounted on said linkage plate, said linkage pin meshed between saidteeth on said push bar and protruding into said indentation of saidcontrol plate, a biasing spring connected to said linkage plate, meanseffected by the depression of said push bar for moving said linkage pinagainst said control plate and rotating said plate, and means responsiveto the action of said biasing spring for exerting force on said linkageplate and cause it to rotate to move said linkage pin along saidindented portion of said control plate for restoring said push bar tonormal.

THEODOREC. RIEBE.

Name Date Stewart Fen. it, 1932 Number

